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In September 2017, Facebook users spread several rumors about government benefits and assistance available to Florida residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. One of these rumors involved the provision of food stamps for Floridians whose homes had experienced power outages of at least two hours in duration. A typical expression of the rumor read as follows: A similar rumor claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), rather than the state of Florida, was overseeing food stamp benefits: A separate but related rumor held that FEMA was directly providing Floridians with $500 for food purchases: None of these rumors was quite right, and they all seemed to be based on misunderstandings of a federal disaster relief program known as Disaster-SNAP (or D-SNAP), which was extended to parts of Florida on 22 September 2017. D-SNAP is a program that temporarily extends the benefits usually available under SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps) to individuals affected by natural disasters. One does not have to be an existing recipient of SNAP benefits in order to qualify for D-SNAP, but the latter program does incorporate maximum income limits. D-SNAP assistance typically lasts for one month, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced on 22 September that the program would be in place for two months in Florida. Recipients are provided with a temporary EBT card containing an amount of credit based upon household size and income. A one-person household with a gross monthly income of $1,664 or less would receive $194 in D-SNAP credit for one month (a figure that may be the source of the $197 per person claim in some Facebook rumors). An eight-person household (provided it has a gross monthly income of $4,151 or less) would be eligible to receive $1,169 in D-SNAP assistance (an average of $146 per person). A two-person household (provided it met the income requirements) would be eligible for $357 in benefits, or $179.50 per person. (There is no set benefit amount per person, a common element of the rumors which is misleading.) The extension of D-SNAP in Florida applies to certain counties. A county is considered eligible based upon the percentage of power outages experienced over a period of 72 hours, as well as the level of structural and flood damage suffered. So power outages do play a role in the provision of extended SNAP benefits, but only on the county level. Such benefits come with no requirement that an individual household must have experienced a power outage for more than two hours, or that applicants must provide photographic evidence of such outages. The appropriate place to apply for Disaster-SNAP assistance in Florida is the ACCESS Florida web page. Other assistance is available As well as Disaster-SNAP, existing food stamp recipients can avail themselves of certain other enhanced benefits in light of the damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Irma. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees SNAP, regular Florida recipients can (as of 12 September 2017) temporarily use EBT cards to buy hot food (something they cannot normally do) and should have received their monthly allotment earlier than usual in September: In addition to these modifications, several types of federally-provided assistance are available to those affected by disasters such as Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, both in Florida and in other states. These benefits include monetary assistance with rent and home repairs as well as funeral and medical care costs, as well as direct assistance such as FEMA's entering into lease agreements with owners of multi-family rental properties and performing repairs, with the aim of providing temporary accommodation for individuals. Variations in eligibility, rates of payment, duration of assistance, and type of assistance mean that it's virtually impossible to say how much an individual household or person might receive. Residents of states that have been affected by hurricanes and other disasters can check whether they are eligible for federal assistance, and apply for such assistance, by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov. The claim asserted in one of the Facebook rumors, that FEMA is offering individuals $500 via direct deposit to be used for purchasing food, has a grain of truth to it. As part of the assistance that the federal government provides to individuals and households in state where major disasters have been declared (as was the case in Florida), individuals who have lost their homes or been displaced can apply for what's known as Critical Needs Assistance, which consists of a one-time payment of $500, as explained by FEMA: However, the state must first ask FEMA to authorize Critical Needs Assistance in specific counties particularly badly hit by a disaster, FEMA must then grant that authorization, and the individual must go through an application process. FEMA has authorized Critical Needs Assistance in certain Florida counties, which are listed on the FEMA web site. The Critical Needs Assistance application is available only to individuals who have lost their homes or been displaced, and who had previously resided in counties where FEMA has authorized Critical Needs Assistance.
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